The high tech arena of today's video security, government security applications, home theater market, medical video and diagnostic imaging and records, and large and small data storage applications is ever growing and becoming more lucrative with each product placed in the marketplace. Any new emerging technology in this area offers opportunity for successful market entry. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the consumer electronics business are under $30 million dollars a year in sales. What is remarkable, however, is that in the current market no true TV/PC/DVD integrated, image capture terabyte and multi terabyte storage solution exists that meets the plethora of current and future government, medical, industrial and consumer needs.
The goal of HD-DVD is to present at least two hour long films in high definition video format at 1080p. Currently, DVD technology is limited to resolution of 480p. As a part of these limitations, the current DVD red laser technology is limited to 4.7 Gb of storage or 9.4 Gb using double sided or dual layer DVD. However, emerging blue laser systems will have the capability of storing capacities of 25 GB to 300 GB or greater per disk in the near future. Systems will be able to achieve 36 Mbps of transfer speed which equates to approximately 2 hours at 1080p resolution or 13 hours of 480p resolution for the 25 Gb disks. It is contemplated that 200 Gb dual layer disks and 300 Gb holographic optical storage will soon follow which will allow for even greater storage of recorded media.
Today, there exists a variety of audio compact disk (CD) and digital video disk (DVD) storage and handling apparatuses. Each apparatus configuration varies in shape and size and can range in shape from toroidal configurations to linear type cartridge stacks. Many typical digital media handling libraries seen today usually function as read only type devices. Sometimes these devices may include a number of areas for containing data cartridges positioned relative to a manipulating arm capable of maneuvering in front of a particular area which contains the desired cartridge to read. In the handling of digital data, especially where the recording and viewing of stored data is involved, data-access speed is sometimes very important to the user. The ability to specifically view recorded media content within a library and then to selectively retrieve and simultaneously play the selection would offer the user a tremendous benefit not currently available.
Optical information storage technologies have provided increasing storage densities over the years. The demand for larger volume optical storage devices has been persistent, and various approaches to increased optical storage have been considered. In addition, the retrieval of stored disk media has become a significant factor for consideration in view of the proliferation of various uses of these disks for data storage in association with various information that must be readily available. While individual disks are capable of accepting relatively large amounts of data, the amount of data stored for many applications is immense and therefore requires a significant number of disks. In addition to requiring large data storage capacity, rapid retrieval of disks is also desired so that data from the disks can be accessed more quickly.
There are various devices which store numerous recordable media, magnetically or optically, containing information therein in a magazine or magazines. The devices position the recordable media at a given location or locations inside the magazines and remove the same therefrom. An example of such a device is a disk changing apparatus. A disk changing apparatus typically stores a large number of disk-shaped recordable media such as CDs or DVDs in low density magazines and is provided with a drive read write unit for magnetically or optically recording onto and playing information stored on the disks. The disk changing apparatus is further adapted to set a disk from a magazine into the drive unit and insert a disk from the drive unit into a magazine. Many of these magazines have drawer supports for each disk.
One major factor in determining the efficiency of disk retrieval and delivery is found in the capabilities of the disk retrieval/loader apparatus to accomplish disk movement from and to storage libraries and drive mechanisms. Specifically, if the disk retrieval/loader apparatus is able to quickly retrieve, carry and deliver a disk, the data from that disk can be made available faster to the user. Thus, it is apparent that a need is present for a disk retrieval/loader apparatus that can retrieve and load disks in a timely and efficient manner. However, before the user can retrieve a disk he/she must be able to determine which disk a desired file is on. This is typically done through some form of manual searching within the stored files.
Specifically, for example in digital video recorder security systems, there are several methods of searching for programs recorded by a user or system. First, one method is to search while actually looking at a video by fast forwarding or rewinding a recorded program. Recent developments in digital video recorder software has allowed for faster searching by using camera number, time and date, or other metadata. These devices facilitate searching for a recorded segment of surveillance video or a TV program while listening to sound by doubling the image speed and maintaining the sound speed at a normal level.
Specifically, by way of example only, there are devices that facilitate searching for a TV program while listening to sound by doubling the image speed and maintaining the sound speed at a normal level. To increase the efficiency of retrieval, great efforts have recently been made to increase the fast forward speed and the rewind speed.
In prior methods, a user must look at the screen until he/she finds his/her desired program. Furthermore, fast forwarding and rewinding operations are complicated and troublesome. Such methods depend on user's intuition and memory. Particularly when a program is automatically recorded, user's intuition and memory cannot be relied upon any longer. As more and more video images are stored, the user's burden increases.
Other methods index video segments or recorded programs at the time of recording and searching for a desired program by displaying a list of the indices on the screen. Generally speaking, recording date and time are used as indices. It is considered that information which can be acquired as the attributes of a program by a video recorder are currently only recording date and time. In the video recorder, a list of the recording times and dates of TV programs is displayed on the screen so that a user can search for his/her desired program from the list while recollecting his/her recording date and time. However, in this method a video program must be searched utilizing an index and the user's burden is slightly lightened. But, since index information is only recording date and time, it can be said that this method also depends on the intuition and memory of a user. Particularly, when a program is automatically recorded, it is difficult to recall the contents of the recorded program from its recording date and time.
Along with the digitization of TV broadcasting, electronic information on TV programs is multiplexed in broadcasting and aired. This electronic program information is generally called EPG (“Electronic Program Guide”). EPG includes key words such as the title, category and performers of each program. Current digital satellite broadcasting enables a user to select his/her desired channel by displaying this EPG on the screen.
Another method is contained in the EPG and is used as retrieval indices. In this case, when a program is recorded, EPG is also stored. To see a recorded program, the titles of recorded programs are listed on the screen ad a user selects his/her desired program from this list. However, since EPG indicative of the contents of a program such as the title of a program is used as an index in the previous method, the burden of user's intuition and memory is greatly lightened. That is, the user searches for his/her desired program while looking at the titles of programs. However, when a large number of recorded programs can be stored, the titles of all the recorded programs cannot be displayed on the screen and the retrieval of indices becomes complicated. Further, it is difficult to recall the contents of automatically recorded programs from program information alone.
Along with the spread of digital broadcasting, various apparatuses for recording digital video will continue to come into existence. Since the high compression of digital video from digital video recorders is possible, a large number of video programs can be recorded. The connection of multiple video cameras used for capturing video images to this storage mechanism is possible.
Further, the program recording function will be improved by using the above mentioned EPG. For example, it will be possible to record a program by directly specifying the title of the program or to automatically record a program having a keyword by specifying the keyword included in program information such as the category or performer of the program. Particularly, the user's history of viewing is analyzed to automatically record a program which seems to be the favorite of the user.
The present invention, having an automatic recording function and the ability to store a large number of video, audio, and/or data files, is particularly effective as a media player, recorder, and library.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system, apparatus, and method for playing, recording, storing, and/or cataloging a large-volume library of media files recorded on a digital media storage disk.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system, apparatus, and method for providing versatile video and/or program recording scheduling functions to programmably record from a plurality of selected video, multiple input cameras, and/or audio input sources.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system, apparatus, and method for capturing, recording, storing, retrieving, and manipulating digital media image files on storage disks into and out of a disk drive and/or a disk storage mechanism for recording and/or playback.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system, apparatus, and method for retrieving and manipulating digital media storage disks into and out of a disk drive and/or multiple disk drives and/or a disk storage mechanism for recording and/or playback.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system, apparatus, and method for searching for a user's specific desired file from a large number of previously recorded audio, video, or data files and then providing playback quickly and efficiently.